Skandia Cowes Week

This year's Skandia Cowes Week took place between the 4th and 11th August during which time we witnessed 8,500 competitors per day taking part in 35 races and an influx of over 1000 yachts formulating a slight to behold in Cowes Harbour. People from more than a dozen countries attended the event, which helped to raise thousands of pounds for charity whilst singling out the Island as 'the place to be.'

The outline below provides an 'at-a-glance' insight into the exciting daily racing activities on the water coupled with an impressive line-up of entertainment throughout the week on shore, which combined together to create a festival atmosphere of outstanding magnitude.

Saturday 4th

Thousands of yachting enthusiasts let out a huge sigh of relief when the rain clouds moved aside to leave the Solent equipped with ideal sailing conditions on the 181st coronation day of Skandia Cowes Week. The main racing programme officially got underway with a series of dramatic starts being made all the more challenging by low water and strong tides. Nevertheless, the Skandia Cowes Week fleet of 941 boats made the most of the breezy and sunny conditions in the Solent in their first competitive outing of the week.

The initial success stories emerged later that afternoon with prizes being presented for the opening event, the Volkswagen Toureg 'King of Cowes', which featured champion sailors from different classes at last year's regatta. Bournemouth yachtsman Alister Richardson took the trophy and in doing so described Skandia Cowes Week as a pinnacle sailing event: "high pressure, high prizes with a lot to be gained and a lot to be lost, that's what makes things interesting."
In the air that evening five helicopters from the Army's Blue Eagles display team flew in formation over Cowes. Four Gazelle helicopters and one Lynx helicopter wowed the crowds with their incredible display of aerial acrobatics.

Sunday 5th

The competitor's were in for some tricky conditions at various points around the race track as a result of a strong flood tide on the second day of Skandia Cowes Week. Baggy breezes (as the sailors call them!) also caused a series of upsets. In fact, the 98-strong fleet of the Laser SB3 class were given a round of applause from race officials on the Royal Yacht Squadron platform after just two boats were recalled.
In Class 6 IRC, there was mayhem at the start as a few boats were forced the wrong side of Alpha Buoy and had to turn around. These included the beautiful 8m Athena, campaigned by David Glasgow and The Earl of Cork and Orrery. Two Sigma 38s flew protest flags and Vanilla, Niek Spiljard's X332 that won on Saturday, was forced to retire.

Back at the Squadron, large crowds lined the waterfront to watch the flag officers hoist and lower ensigns, the cannon firer's discharge their guns and Sea Cadets raise the essential course boards. Live music was provided on the Parade by blues band 'Amen Boogie Blues' and Rock-a-billy band 'The Lonesome Valley Boys' to name just a few of the acts.

Monday 6th

On Monday, the official charity of Skandia Cowes Week, the Ellen MacArthur Trust which raises money to take children and young people recovering from cancer and leukaemia out sailing, urged everyone to dress in blue and paint their boats blue to show their support for the cause. Double Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson was back in town and as a patron of the Ellen MacArthur Trust, the sailing heroine encouraged all of the estimated 10,000 people present to do what they could in order to make a difference to the charity which has already generated tens of thousands of pounds. There were prizes on offer for the best blue boat, the best blue individual and the best blue business and any vessels in the fleet with 'blue' in their name, such as Blue Genes, Blue Shark or Blue Tango came under extra pressure to perform!

The day culminated with the Ellen MacArthur Trust Ball at the Haven Events Centre. The event raised a staggering £78,328 as a result of a silent auction where a collection of sailing memorabilia and a range of big brand items were put under the hammer.

Tuesday 7th

The day began with a postponement owing to a bright, sunny but windless start. A further postponement followed at 12:25, just as crews were set for the race to get underway. Half and hour later it was all systems go again, although unbelievably only subsequently for the yachts to be back flagged! At the second attempt they all managed to cross the line and head of towards Gurnard; although special race instructions had to be invoked by the Squadron, splitting the starts for both the White and Black Groups.

The yacht Henri Lloyd Cutting Edge, Robert Lutener and Martin Elwood's Farr 45, carried a distinguished guest in Class 2 IRC when solo round-the-world yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston joined them for the day's racing.
Down on Cowes Parade Ellen MacArthur had one of her remarkable records beaten in a sensational performance from a young chap called Olly. After Ellen had set a record on the Ellen MacArthur Trust 'Star in a Reasonably Priced Dinghy' sailing simulator of 02.02.06, Olly turned up on the stand and knocked a full five seconds off her time to claim pole position and two tickets to both the Southampton and London Boat Shows. Latin band 'Martinez' and the 'Barnard' comedy double act could also been seen performing at regular intervals throughout the afternoon along with various live music sets.

Wednesday 8th

Celebrities set sail from Cowes to race around the Isle of Wight on Wednesday. Classic children's TV presenter Johnny Ball joined the crew on board the 'Spirit of Weymouth' for the Artemis Challenge where the winning team would collect a £10,000 donation for a charity of their choice. There were dramatic scenes off the south coast of the Island during the race. The yacht 'Pindar' lost its mast while leading the Artemis round-the-Island charity challenge.

On Wednesday evening Island businesses and clients got together for the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce Summer Ball. The Chamber's Marketing Manager Jane Aslett commented upon the regatta's ability to be a great showcase for everything the Island has to offer to visitors "It's not just the professional sailors. Anyone can join in with Cowes Week and I think that's what it brings to the Island. It's a chance for everyone to get involved and a benefit to all businesses whatever field they're in."

The councillor for Leisure David Pugh added his views regarding a recent change to the regatta's audience; "I think it's attracting a different audience now, a younger audience, people who aren't traditionally involved in sailing and yachting. The onshore activities here are just as busy as the offshore activities. It's the atmosphere that's creating and the profile. All these people who have been here this week will be going back to the mainland, talking up the Isle of Wight and what it has to offer."

Thursday 9th

The sixth day of Skandia Cowes Week 2007 had a special twist - it was Ladies Day! A number of events were held in Cowes to celebrate the female fraternity at this year's sailing regatta. Cowes Week spokeswoman Peta Stuart-Hunt said "Really what it's all about is the recognition of women's achievements in sailing. They've obviously helped bring sailing to the fore, we've had Ellen MacArthur, Shirley Robertson and Dee Caffari. Those characters have really helped to bring sailing onto the front page."

Champagne G.H. Mumm Ladies Day at Skandia Cowes Week was marked by shiny, flat seas and gentle whispering breezes. Some of the most famous female faces in sailing joined in the celebration, including 89 year-old Betty Moore from Horsham in West Sussex, who has attended every Skandia Cowes Week regatta since 1947. This year, racing her Solent Sunbeam 'Why,' Betty scored an excellent victory in the Sunbeam class, beating Anthony Robinson's 'Symphony' by one minute and 25 seconds. Rock/covers bands 'The Jones's' and 'The Accelerators' got the crowds dancing along the parade, whilst juggler Ian Marchant was on hand to keep the youngsters entertained.

Friday 10th

After a frustrating four hour wait for wind, all but six classes at Skandia Cowes Week had their racing abandoned on Friday as light airs and shimmering seas proved ill-suited to sailing though perfect for that evening's spectacular firework display. The decision to abandon was taken reluctantly by race officials of the Royal Southern Yacht Club and Island Sailing Club when the sea breeze, forecast to fill in from the south-west, arrived too late for the hard-pressed race team to get courses, even shortened courses completed. A three gun signal was greeted by cheers from crews who had been lolling around in the hot sun hoping that conditions for racing would improve.

Later that day, an estimated 50,000 embarked upon the town of Cowes for the annual firework display (not including those who chose to watch from the comfort of their own back gardens in both Cowes and East Cowes). 12,000 were permitted onto the actual parade to watch the twenty-minute display, which traditionally illuminates the penultimate night sky of Skandia Cowes Week in spectacular fashion.

Farewell Skandia!

Skandia announced in the spring that 2008 would be its last year of headline support for the world-famous yachting regatta, after 14 years. Although a new title sponsor for 2009 has yet to be found, reassurances have been made by the regatta organiser, Cowes Combined Clubs, is already in confidential talks with at least half a dozen interested parties to ensure that the future of one of the best sailing spectacles in the entire world remains secure.

For more in-depth information about this year's Skandia Cowes Week, including comprehensive details of the all-important race results, please visit the official Skandia Cowes Week website.

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